"And, done." Pete smiled as he held up the artifact filled static bag. He and Claudia had gone to Montana to pick up this particular artifact, a gold ring that made you think you were married to the first thing you saw after putting it on. There were just some things that didn't surprise him anymore. That and it was one of the less hectic snags that he had done. It really was just negotiating a price for it.
Pete unlocked the car so the two could get on their way home. It was a long drive. That, and after a successful mission, Pete was hungry. Okay, Pete was always hungry. Steve was trying out a new recipe, but maybe he could convince Claudia to stop for tacos on the way back to South Dakota. Or before they left town.
"Hey Claud?" Pete turned to ask as he sat in the driver's seat of his black SUV. The red haired girl had been pretty quiet after receiving a text in the pawn shop. She was staring across the street from the shop from her seat. There was a diner there, with what looked like bar seating by the windows. Her face was pale, almost like she saw something that she was trying hard to not see. "Claudia."
"Huh, what?" Claudia seemed to snap out of her trance. She looked Pete in the eye. She was afraid of something.
"Everything okay?" Pete looked over at the diner. He wasn't really in the mood for diner food. Maybe Claudia was.
"Yeah, yes, everything's fine." Claudia looked forward and took a deep breath. "Let's just get home, shelve the ring, and get some rest."
"Sure, Claud." Pete nodded and sighed. There was something off. Claudia looked as though she had seen a ghost, but Pete wasn't getting any vibes about the diner. Just could feel his hunger growing. "Stop for tacos on the way?"
"Yeah, but lets get back to South Dakota first." Claudia agreed with him. Pete just shrugged and began driving. Leaving the diner and the pawn shop behind them.
"We're home!" Pete shouted. Claudia couldn't help but laugh at the man who had essentially become a big brother to her. He walked off to great the everyone else at the B&B. They looked to be just finishing getting ready for dinner. Claudia smiled and nodded before walking to the stairs.
"Hey Claud," Pete shouted up to her. "Don't you want dinner?"
"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute." Claudia responded and walked up the stairs and to her room. She closed the door behind her. Taking a deep breath she pulled out her phone. Turning it on she saw the conversation the had via text while Pete was snagging the artifact. She read through it in her head how many times on the drive home, and reading it again was making it sink in more and more.
"Hello, Donovan, I know your secret." The fist line read. The number was unknown, but since it was a simple grab she didn't have her laptop with her, and she didn't want to worry Pete in the car.
She just responded. "Oh, and who is this?"
"Howard Cress. I'm watching you and you're...friend. I'm in the diner across the street." The next line read. She had moved to her computer and quickly pulled up her tracking and search programs. It was that line that stopped her dead in her tracks. How had Howard gotten out? Why find her? And above all else...How did he know about the Warehouse?
She had met Howard during her brief time in the psychiatric institution. He was known as one of the crazier ones. Which Claudia had seen first hand when he threw a nurse over the couch because she was sitting in the wrong spot after he asked her to sit. That was the only time that Claudia had seen Howard. His hair blonde and unkempt. His eyes a dark blue that caused someone looking into them to tremble in fright. Claudia looked into his eyes, and then just wanted to hide in her room. His eyes were like a fear inducing artifact.
The search would take some time. She had to pull up everything she could on Howard Cress, and then she would tell everyone. With Myka recovering it would be hard to really deal with another crazy psychopath trying to attack them. It was the reason Claudia was having so much field time with Pete. Even though Pete didn't want to be gone for very long. Claudia took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She would eat dinner, and then tell Artie afterward. He'd know where to go from here. With that, Claudia left her computer and walked down to dinner. The smell of Steve's cooking seemed to alleviate the fright.